The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has released images of deposits under the water inside the facility's No.1 reactor.
Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, began a robot probe inside the reactor's containment vessel on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the utility explained that the first robot had finished securing a passageway in the water for other robots.
TEPCO also released video taken by the robot's camera. It shows the robot installing a ring, which will keep cables of robots from getting stuck within structures inside the containment vessel.
The video also shows matter accumulated around the entrance of a pipe at the bottom of the containment vessel.
TEPCO says it cannot determine at this stage whether the matter is molten fuel debris.
The utility plans to retract the first robot on Thursday and put the second one in to take more precise images as soon as preparations are finished.
The Fukushima Daiichi plant suffered a triple meltdown in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Previous surveys confirmed the presence of deposits believed to be fuel debris in the No. 2 and No. 3 reactors, but not in the No. 1 reactor.
Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, began a robot probe inside the reactor's containment vessel on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the utility explained that the first robot had finished securing a passageway in the water for other robots.
TEPCO also released video taken by the robot's camera. It shows the robot installing a ring, which will keep cables of robots from getting stuck within structures inside the containment vessel.
The video also shows matter accumulated around the entrance of a pipe at the bottom of the containment vessel.
TEPCO says it cannot determine at this stage whether the matter is molten fuel debris.
The utility plans to retract the first robot on Thursday and put the second one in to take more precise images as soon as preparations are finished.
The Fukushima Daiichi plant suffered a triple meltdown in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Previous surveys confirmed the presence of deposits believed to be fuel debris in the No. 2 and No. 3 reactors, but not in the No. 1 reactor.
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Summary
TEPCO, operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, released images from a robot probe inside Reactor No.1's containment vessel, revealing matter deposits and installing a ring to secure passage for further robots. The matter may include molten fuel debris but this has yet to be confirmed.
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ID: 62043bcb-34fc-45c2-8bf3-0bce35ed5dbd
Category ID: nhk
URL: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220209_41/
Date: Feb. 9, 2022
Created: 2022/02/10 07:10
Updated: 2025/12/09 17:56
Last Read: 2022/02/10 07:10